[Welcome to the EL game series. These posts are all short introductions to games you can play in the EL. Because learning to play games in English can take a long time, some posts will explain how to play simple versions of games. Other posts tell you why you should use games to practice English. You can also use the tags to find other posts you might be interested in.]
（ELゲーム連載へようこそ。このコラムはELで遊べるボードゲームやカードゲームを紹介します。本来のやり方通りにやってしまうと、遊ぶまでの時間が大変かかるかもしれないので、ある投稿では簡単な遊びの工夫が紹介されます。ほかの投稿ではなぜゲームで英語を勉強するのがよいかが説明されます。投稿のタグを使ってほかに興味ありそうなポストを見つけられます。）
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Scrabble is a classic American boardgame. It is so famous that it is in the dictionary! Upwords is not as famous, but it is a very similar game that you can play in the same way. The problem with these games is that they are meant for native English speakers, so they can be very difficult even for me.
The basics:
In both games, players get a set of tiles（コマ）with letters on them. They take turns making words on the board. It is like building a crossword puzzle. In Upwords, players can cover old letters up with new tiles, making spelling words a little easier. Each word earns the players points. The player with the highest score wins.
For English learners:
- Don’t worry about the score! Just make words.
- Instead of taking a few letters at a time, put a lot of letter tiles next to the board. Players can choose any letters they see on their turn.
- Play with teams. Work with a partner to make the longest words possible.
- Make a puzzle. Try to see how many times you can make words cross each other.
Final Thoughts: These are games about vocabulary and creativity. Use word roots and word families when you play.
